Boll-weevil exterminator



1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 W H GIBSON ET AL BOLL WEEVIL EXTERMINATOR Filed July 12.

Feb. 12, 1924;

INVENTOR S A'ITORNEY WITNESS:

W. 'H. GIBSON ET AL Feb. 12 1924.;

BOLL WEEVIL EXTERMINATOR s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 12. 1922 mmw INVENTOR S ATTORN EY WITNESS:

' Feb. 12, 1924. v 1,483,795

w. H. GIBSON ET AL BOLL WEEVIL EXTERMINATOR Filed July 12. 192? 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 WA. 6 /650 r/Z. G/so/r 6 5, INVENTORS ATTORNEY WITNESS:

Patented Feb. 12, 1924.

j-.-U STAT WILLIAM H. GIBSON, ALLAN ema te Greener: s. rinu'r'rz, or concord), NORTH o no I NA, i

iso'tnwnnvrn nxrnnminnron. 1

Application filed 'Ju1 12, 19225 Serial no; 574,531. 3

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that W8,"WT LLIAM H. GIBsON, ALLAN M. GIBSON, and GEORGE S. 'Knu'r'rz,

citizens of the United States, residing at Concord, in the county of Cabarrus and State of North Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Boll-Weevil "Exterminators, of which the following is a specification.

This inventionrelates to insect destroyers and has for its object the provision of a novel -machine adapted to be drawn along the ground for removing weevils from'growing cotton plants and for gathering up dead or live weevils which'may been the ground and also all the punctured squares, the device operating by suction.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character in which the hoods or nozzles are carried by flexible members which will permit eifective use regardless of the distance between the rows or hills.

Still another objectisthe provision of an insectdestroyerbf this-character in which the hood elements are provided notonly with novel cut-off means but with adjustable stops by means ofwhich the position of theshoods above the ground may be'regu- .lated depending upon the height of the growing plants. i t

A further object is the provision of interchangeable hoods of different types and also nozzles, the latter being eficiently designed to exert a sweeping action'for gathering up punctured squares. y I

An additional object is the provision-of a device of this character which will be simple and inexpensive in-manufacture, easy to operate and control, efiicient and durable in service and a general' improvement in the art. I a. r -With the above and other objects and ad vantages in view the invention consists in the details of construction; to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying" drawings in which: I I g Figure l'is' a side levation of the device showing one form thereof, 1 1 Figure 2 is a plan-view, 1

iFigures3is a rear elevation showing the use of one form of hood and showing various height adjustments,

x 16 carrying hounds 17. cured to or formsa part of this frame and carries a pair of ground engaging wheels 19.

Figure'a is. a longitudinalsection through one of-the suction control elementsand hood associated therewith, v

Figure 5.is a longitudinal section through a modified'for'm of hood,

Figure 6'isa side elevation of still another type of hood, i Figure 7 is a rear elevation thereof.

' Referring more particularly to" the drawings the numeral 15 designates a supporting frame which may be constructed of suitable wooden bars or of angle iron of any desired weight and cross sectional shape and which is here shown as being rectangular and pro vided at its'front end with converging bars An axle 18 is se As the device is'intended to be drawn by one horse I provide thills 20 carryin'g a fifth wheel 21 movably mounted upon the hounds 'mounted tool boxes or any receptacle which may be needed for the carrying of any articles or auxiliary apparatus such as tools and the like which may be needed during the operation or the machine.

Mounted upon the platform is a power device 26 such as a small gas engine and which operates a rotary blower 27 mounted within a casing 28 and discharging into a gathering receptacle 29 in the same manner as a vacuum type power driven sweeper. The inlet'pipe 30, to the casing 28 is formed with two oppositely extending horizontally disposed branches 31 from which lead'relatively small connections 32. The above described parts fan in the blower and-might be omitted if pendentfan;

In Figures l to 3 I- have shown some of the connections 32 as closed. off by any suitable means and-consequently rendered inactive while the'remalning ones, six 111 number are the engine were equipped with an inde- 1 treated at one time. Eachhose carries a control member shown .in detail in Figure 4 and consisting of a cylinder 34 having a lateral connection 35 for the hose and having its upper end closed and formed with a handle 36 and its lower end open and provided'with a valve seat 37. Slidable through the closed end is a stem 38 which has its upper end carrying a handle 39 above the handle 36 and normally pressed upwardly by a spring 40. Carried by the lower end of'the stem is a valve 41 in the nature of a disk adapted to close upon the seat 37.

The connecting members may carry selected ones of a series of hoods which are shown in detail in Figures 4 to -7. The type shown in Figure 4 consists of a cylindrical shell 42 open at its bottom and having its upper end formed with a frusto-conical portion 43 mounted upon the cylinder 34 and held thereon by any desired means, the means being however of such a nature as to permit removal of the'hood when such is desired.

Carried by the shell 42 is a vertically adjustthe suction device is operated the suction produced through the hoods will operate to suck in the insects upon the growing plants and discharge them into the gathering receptacle 29 in which they may subsequently be destroyed-by any'preferred means. The adj ustablelfoot members 44 govern the position of the hoods in accordance with the height of the growing plants, various adjusted. posi' tions being shown in Figure 3. It is intended that an operator be provided for each nozzle in this form of the device which is used when the plants are very young. I

In Figure 5 we have shown a modified form of hood which includes merely a frustoconical shell 45. This form is designed particularly for use when the plants have reached a size too great to permit the hoods 42 to be used, this form being moreover designed particularly for use when the cotton plants arein hills instead of rows.

In Figures 6 and 7 we have shown still another type of hood which is particularly advantageous when used" in the treatment of plantsgrowing in rows and chopped out in such a way that they are comparatively close together. This hood is designed by the numeral 46 and is of shell like formation but U-shapedin end view so as to straddle the plants, the forward end being flaring as shown at 47 so as to exert a brushing action upon the plants passed over. 7 From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will be apparent that we have thus provided a simply constructed andeasily operated 'andcontrolled machine which 'will eflicient-ly exterminate boll weevils, orat least reduce their existence to such an extent that their destructive work will be almost eliminated, the device having the notable advantage of removing the insects not only from the plants but also from the ground and additionally pickin up all the squares and other debris whic have fallen. It is also to be noted that we have provided ample means for rendering any of the nozzles inactive at will, the plunger controlled valves operating ef- :ficiently for carrying out this purpose. Owing to the simplicity of the construction of the entire device and the fewness of the parts, it is apparent that there is very little to get out of order so that the device should have a long life and satisfactorily perform all the functions for which it is intended.

a While we have shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention it is of course to be understood that we reserve the rightto make such changes in the form, construction and arrangement of parts as will not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the ,subjoined claims.

We claim: 7 V .1. A boll weevil exterminator comprising a wheel supported frame, a power driven suction device on the frame, and a plurality of hosesconnected with the suction device and carrying nozzles, and means for establishing or cutting oif communication through any niimber of said nozzles, said means consisting of a cylinder interposed between the hose and the suction pipe and provided with a value seat, a handle at the top of the cylinder, a stem slidablethrough said handle and carrying a valve cooperating with said seat,,a'nd an upwardly spring pressed handle .on said stem above said first named handle. 7

2. A device of the character-described comprising a wheel supported frame provided with draft means, a power device on the frame, asuction blower driven by'said power device and mounted on the frame, said'blower having a branched inlet pipe carrying a plurality of selectively closable connections, flexible conduits connected with said connections, manually controllable valve members carried by said hoses for es tablishing or cutting off communication therethrough, hoods carried by said con-V trol members, and vertically adjustable foot members carried by the hoods and engageable with the ground for varying the position of the hoods with respect thereto. 7

3. In a vacuum type insect exterminator, a. nozzle consisting of a cylindrical shell having its lower end carrying a flaring hood, a valve located within the cylinderat its juncture with the hood and having an operating stem extending axially through and beyond the upper end of the cylinder.

4. In a vacuum type insect exterminator, a nozzle COIlSiStiHg of a cylindrical shell having its lower end carrying a flaring hood, a valve located Within the cylinder at its juncture with the hood and having an operating stem extending axially through and beyond the upper end of the cylinder, and a foot member vertically slidably adjustably mounted upon the hood and engageable with the ground whereby to space the hood away from the ground.

5. In a vacuum type insect exterminator, a nozzle consisting of a cylindrical shell having its lower end carrying a flaring hood, a valve located within the cylinder at its juncture with the hood and having an operating stem extending axially through and beyond the upper end of the cylinder, the hood being of arch shape whereby to straddle a row of plants.

In testimony whereof We aflix our signa- WILLIAM H. GIBSON. ALLAN M. GIBSON. GEORGE s. KLUTTZ.

tures. 

